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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,141 square miles (5,550 km2), of which 1,998 square miles (5,170 km2) is land and 143 square miles (370 km2) (6.66%) is water.
Utah Valley lies at the center of the county, lined by the mountains of the Wasatch Range on the east. Utah Lake occupies a large part of the valley. The elevation ranges from 4,487 feet (1,368 m) above sea level at the lake to 11,928 feet (3,636 m) at the peak of Mount Nebo.

The government is an elected county commission made up of three commissioners. Other elected officials include the county sheriff, the county clerk, and the county attorney. As of 2011, the three county commissioners are Gary Anderson, Doug Witney, and Larry Ellertson. Commissioner Ellertson's position will be up for election in 2012, with the other two seats decided in 2014.

Utah County's growth was recognized by the state legislature in 2011 by adding one new state Senate seat and two House district seats.[3]

Utah County saw 43 of the state's 100 cases of West Nile virus in 2006. Following two deaths from the disease and requests from residents, the Utah County Health Department hired additional staff for their mosquito abatement program. Despite their efforts, 20% of the mosquito species that carry the virus in the county are infected.[4]

The I-15 CORE project is an expansion project that is adding multiple lanes on Interstate 15 through all of Utah County. This expands 24 miles (39 km) of freeway and is scheduled for completion in December 2012, but with a major protion by June 2012.[5]

As of the census of 2010, there were 516,564 people, 140,602 households, and 114,350 families residing in the county. The population density was 259 people per square mile (100/km²). There were 148,350 housing units, at an average density of 74 per square mile (29/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.4% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian or Alaska Native, 1.4% Asian, 0.8% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 4.6% some other race, and 2.7% from two or more races. 10.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[1]

There were 140,602 households, out of which 47.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.9% were headed by married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.7% were non-families. 11.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.4% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.57, and the average family size was 3.88.[1]

In the county, the population was spread out with 35.2% under the age of 18, 15.8% from 18 to 24, 28% from 25 to 44, 14.5% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 24.6 years. For every 100 females there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.7 males.[1]

At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the county was $45,833, and the median income for a family was $50,196. Males had a median income of $37,878 versus $22,656 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,557. About 6.80% of families and 12.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.40% of those under age 18 and 4.80% of those age 65 or over.

The 1985 film Fletch is set in part in Provo. The dialogue makes frequent reference to the city.[15]

The 2008 documentary Happy Valley is about drug abuse in Utah County.[16]

The book Social Welfare: Politics and Public Policy, by Diana DiNitto, mentions Utah County as one of the three most generous counties in philanthropic donations in the U.S., based on an article in Giving USA 2003 (the other two were San Juan County, Utah and Madison County, Idaho).[17]

^These should not be described as ethnic groups, because the question was not about what ethnicity someone had but what ancestry they had. Only two ancestries were allowed to be reported, but unlike reports of race there is no distinction made between those who reported only one and those who reported multiple.